


Fight or Flight

by PinkBlossom



Category: NCIS
Genre: Assault, Domestic Violence, Gen, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Jethro Gibbs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24701206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkBlossom/pseuds/PinkBlossom
Summary: Gibbs finds Special Agent Harri Foster badly beaten and the team are desperate to find out who did it.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 21





	1. Who Did This Harri?

Sat in the sterile hospital waiting room, Gibbs tried to console a heartbroken Abby.

‘I should have gone around earlier. I knew something wasn’t right.’ Abby sobbed, burying her head in Gibbs’ now wet shirt.

‘Abby, you couldn’t predict this. It’s thanks to you we got to her before it really was too late.’

Gibbs wondered how many more times he would find himself at this hospital, wating to hear if another member of his team was going to be ok. This time it wasn’t in the line of duty but that didn’t make it any better. He felt responsible: they were his team after all.

Harriet (Harri) Foster had been on Gibbs’ team for the last year and had blended in so well with everyone. She was a tough cookie and hadn’t had an easy childhood but through sheer determination she had made it to NCIS and through her probationary period as a special agent. It has meant so much to her and she was always putting in the hours to make sure she stayed on top of things. Her personal life had seemed like it was going well too, and she’d not long moved in with her Petty Officer boyfriend, Nathan Jones. She had taken this week off as he was back from deployment and she wanted to spend some time with him. She was meant to have met Abby this morning for coffee but had failed to show. Abby had phoned and her boyfriend had answered and said she had a headache. Abby accepted this and got on with her day but when she tried to phone her in the evening, her phone just rang and rang – completely out of character. Abby phoned Gibbs and he tried to call her and got the same; she would never contravene rule 3 without good reason. He decided he’d go and check on her. When he went to her flat the door was a jar. He found Harri in the kitchen, slumped over the table with too many injuries to count. She was alive but barely. He called 911 and immediately called the rest of the team in to investigate.

Eventually they were allowed though to see Harri in the ITU. Gibbs didn’t think she could look worse than she did when he found her but more of the swelling and bruises had appeared. Both her eyes were black, swollen shut and her dark hair was matted with blood. She was intubated and surrounded by a dazzling array of monitors and machines. If he’s had to identify her right now, he’s struggle to be 100% sure it was Harri. Abby had tears falling from her eyes as she took in the sheer amount of harm that had been inflicted on her friend. Gibbs attempted to comfort her, but he knew he couldn’t stop her fearing the worst because she was all too aware how sick she was.

It was another few hours before Harri’s sister, Debbie, arrived. Nothing had prepared her for seeing her sister so badly hurt. Gibbs assured her they would do everything to find out who had done this and that there would be an agent outside her room for protection. Once that protection arrived, Gibbs and Abby drove to NCIS see what DiNozzo and McGee had managed to find out.

Abby went straight to her lab to start processing the evidence Tim and Tony had gathered. The main cause for concern was that Nathan, who was Harri’s boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. A BOLO had been issued on his car and McGee was trying to track his cell, but it was switched it off. Gibbs knew as well as his two agents that this was a bad sign.

Gibbs could see this was going to be impossible to work through the night so he sent the team home and went back to the hospital to speak to Harri’s sister. When he arrived she was sat at Harri’s bedside, looking like she was hoping for a miracle.

‘You look like you need some rest,’ Gibbs said.

Debbie shook her head, ‘I don’t know what I’d do without her,’ she said, her voice cracking with the hurt.

Pulling up a chair, Gibbs sat close to Debbie, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked a lot like her sister. Gibbs rarely saw Harri looking vulnerable, she often put a mask on whatever she was feeling. There had been one time however after a job in which they’d discovered a people smuggling operation, a whole lorry full of dead and nearly dead men, women and children. It had affected her greatly and Gibbs had found her crying at her desk after the rest of the team had gone home. She’d been haunted by what she’d seen. The look Harri had that day was exactly the one her sister wore now. A look that said her faith in humanity was gone.

‘If there is anything I know about your sister, it’s that she’s tough. She won’t give up without a fight.’

Debbie half smiled. ‘You have no idea how tough she is. She’s literally the glue that held our family together. My parents… they had their demons and that meant they weren’t around for us kids. Harri worked two jobs around college so we had food and heating. She cooked, the cleaned she attended parents’ evenings. She’d do absolutely anything for us.’

Gibbs took a moment to take this in. She was certainly one of the most motivated recruits he’d seen at NCIS. She was driven but not by a desire for money or status, it was a desire for making things better. She never really spoke about the past and given his own reluctance to discuss his own history, it wasn’t something that he had ever questioned. It didn’t affect her ability to do her job so why pry? She’s passed a psych evaluation to get in to NCIS so there was clearly nothing too terrible she was holding back. If anything it had made Gibbs like her that little bit more.

‘Did she tell you about any arguments that she’d had with anyone, anything that had bothered her?’ Gibbs asked,

‘No,’ Debbie replied, shaking her head. ‘We spoke a few days ago and she was loving life, was loving Nathan being home, said she was loving her job. Where is Nathan? Was he hurt too?’

‘At the moment we don’t know. He wasn’t at the flat and we’re trying to track him down,’

‘God I hope he’s not hurt too. Harri is gonna need him,’

Gibbs got Debbie some coffee before he drove home. On the drive he was trying to think of any cases that might be connected, anyone who Harri had dealt with who might have a grudge but he couldn’t. He fell asleep on the sofa, waking up after a series of relentless nightmares.

He called and got coffee before heading to the hospital. Debbie was asleep in a chair. There had been no change to Harri’s condition. Gibbs sat with her while Debbie slept, holding her hand and gently talking to her.

‘Who did this Harri?’ he whispered. Her eyes remained shut. She didn’t move a muscle. It was unnerving to see her so still. Gibbs doubted she stayed still like this in her sleep.

He looked round at Debbie, who was starting to come to.

‘Hey Agent Gibbs.’

Hi Debbie. Just thought I’d check in before I go to work. There’s coffee and pastries on the table for you.’

‘Thanks. That’s so sweet.’

‘You really should get some proper rest you know. She’s going to need you to be at your best,’ Gibbs said. He couldn’t begin to think that she wouldn’t make it.

‘I know but I can’t leave her.’ Debbie sighed, stroking Harri’s lifeless hand.

‘How about I arrange for her friends to sit with her for a while,’ you know, they’d do it without hesitation.’

‘I know, Abby came by just after you left this morning. She was so lovely. I’ll think about it that’s ok?’

‘Sure, just let me know. Abby for one would be more than happy to help.’

When Gibbs got to the office, DiNozzo and McGee were already hard at work. Gibbs smiled to himself; he knew they wanted to catch you did this to Harri as much as he did.’

‘Boss, I looked at Petty Officer Jones’ background and I found something.’ McGee stated.

‘Show me,’ Gibbs said and he walked over to the screen.

‘Seems he has been living outwith his means. His bank statements show that he’s spending a lot of money. More than he earns. Looks like Harri is bailing him out every month,’ McGee replied

‘I spoke to his superiors on the USS Forrest Sherman. Lets just say they weren’t rushing to praise him. Also evidence from the scene doesn’t suggest that anyone one else was in the flat.’ DiNozzo added.

‘What do we know about him?’ Gibbs demanded

‘Petty Officer Nathan Jones, originally from New York state. Enlisted 6 years ago straight from college. Met Harri 2 years ago and moved in with her 3 months ago. Only previous is for shoplifting when he was 18. He’s a boxer and has competed for the Navy. Abby got a photo of a bootprint from Harri’s body that the hospital spotted. DiNozzo stated.

‘Boss, Jones’ bought a pair of the same boots the day he made shore.’ McGee added.

‘So where is he?’ Gibbs yelled. Not that he wasn’t angry at his agents. He just wanted Nathan Jones in his interrogation room as soon as possible.

McGee answers the phone and listens to what has been said before thanking the caller and putting the phone down. ‘Licence plate recognition camera have his car headed to Dulles in the last 5 minutes,’

Gibbs didn’t need to say anything, both McGee and DiNozzo grabbed their gear and headed towards the exit in unison. Gibbs drove and the journey was silent. No one needed to speak, they were all focused. McGee sat with his eyes on the screen he had in front of him, trying to track down Jones’ movements a little more precisely. They’d alerted the airport but there was not guarantee that he wasn’t on a false passport or that the word wouldn’t get to customs in time. They were now only minutes away from the airport

‘Jones’ car has been logged at Garage 2 at Dulles.’ McGee said as the car pulled up outside the gates

‘Do we know where he’s flying to?’ DiNozzo asked.

McGee shook his head. ‘There are no signs of any purchases on his or Harri’s accounts. He may be waiting till he gets in the airport.’

Gibbs parked up outside the main entrance and the three agents strode purposefully into the airport building. They checked in with security who put all call out to all operatives to be on the lookout. The men split up as they searched the gates. McGee got the phone call to say that he’d bought a ticket for the Caymans. The team headed over to the gate and found him. He didn’t try to run and made out he didn’t know what all the fuss was about. He claimed he had arranged a holiday but Harri didn’t want to go. He didn’t react when Gibbs told him Harri was hurt. He was playing it cool. They took him back to NCIS and before long, Gibbs had him in the Interrogation Room.


	2. Trust

The Petty Officer sat in the interrogation room. McGee sat in observation noting how calm Jones looked as Gibbs sat in silence opposite him, thumbing through his file.

‘If Harri’s hurt, then I need to see her, not be here while you goons waste time. You should be out there finding out who did this,’ Jones spat, becoming more irritated the more Gibbs ignored him.

This was a change in attitude from the airport. His Navy file was right: his temper was short.

Gibbs made him go through his movements from the moment he made land up until he was apprehended at the airport. He denied attacking Harri and claimed to have left hours before Gibbs had found her. Gibbs asked how he got his own injuries, noticing he had scrapes to his knuckes as week as scratches to his neck and forearms. He claimed to have got in to a fight the night before he came home.

‘The way I see it Gibbs, you’ve got nothing on me. So let me go so I can got see Harri,’

Gibbs allowed for silence before replying,’ Not going to happen Petty Officer, we’ll process those DNA samples to provided before anything like that happens.’

‘What’s a DNA sample gonna tell you?’ he spat. ‘Obviously my DNA is going to be in my own flat. On my girlfriend. In my girlfriend,’ Jones replied, hoping to get a rise from Gibbs

‘Oh you’ll be surprised what it can tell us,’ Gibbs replied cooly before leaving the room.

Gibbs joined McGee in the observation room. ‘McGee, go see if he was in all the places he says he was,’

McGee nodded and left the room to see what he could find out. Gibbs stood by the one way glass, observing Jones as he seemingly became more and more agitated. They needed to piece together what had happened and fast, otherwise he was going to have to let Jones go without charging him. There was no way Gibbs was going to let him play the dutiful boyfriend at the hospital. They had no other suspects and Harri had to know whoever had done this to her because there was no way she’d let anyone she didn’t know close enough to do that much damage to her. Gibbs had found her gun in the drawer in her night stand which meant everything had happened so fast that she hadn’t been able to react.

DiNozzo joined Gibbs; Watching the Petty Officer much like you would a zoo animal. He’d been revisiting Harri’s neighbours to see if anyone and heard or seen anything on the night of the attack. As it happened, one of her neighbours was a fire fighter and had been on nightshift when Harri was found. He’d heard shouting coming from Harri’s flat in the morning in to the afternoon and he’d actually gone to her flat to ask them to keep the noise down as he was going to try and get some sleep before his shift. Jones had answered the door said they would keep it down, the firefighter had heard nothing after that.

‘Our witness says Jones was super jumpy and breathing like a winded bull,’

Gibbs scrunched his face up, ‘A winded bull?’

‘Yeah I asked him about that Boss and he said he was raging, like so angry he wasn’t breathing properly.’

Gibbs cocked his head to one side and thought about the analogy, deciding he’d keep that one for his own us at some point.

‘Any news from the hospital?’ Gibbs asked, knowing that if Harri could tell them what had happened it would save a lot of time.’

‘Just the same as before,’ DiNozzo replied, undoubtably thinking the same as his boss.

‘Go check Jones’ movement with McGee. Let him stew a bit longer.’

Gibbs phone rang, it was Abby. Hopefully she had something that he could use. ‘I’m on my way Abs,’ he stated in to the phone before briskly walking out the room and down to the lab.

‘What ya got Abbs,? He said, entering the lab where Abby was furiously typing in to her computer.

The boots Nathan Jones was wearing were definitely the boots that inflicted that horrible bootprint on Harri, I found traces of her skin and blood in the tread. The fingermark bruised around her neck that the hospital sent me swabs from were also a match for Jones DNA and his hands are the same size as the hand that made those marks. He did it Gibbs.’

‘Great work Abby,’ Gibbs shouted, already nearly at the elevator, sensing that the case was drawing to a close

Gibbs went back in to the observation room. He’d met lots of men like Jones before, men who felt they could get away with near murder. The longer NCIS held Jones, the more Gibbs could see his temper becoming more frayed meaning he was more likely to say something incriminating when questioned.

It took an hour for DiNozzo and McGee to get the evidence that Jones was lying about his whereabouts. An hour to find that the people he said he was with didn’t have a good word to say about him. An hour to discover he had a massive gambling problem and he owed a lot of people a lot of money. With this information, Gibbs returned to the interrogation room to confront an increasingly irate Jones with the evidence. Gibbs took a seat opposite him and said nothing.

‘I ain’t got time for your mind games Gibbs. I need to go see my girlfriend,’ Jones spat, barely controlling his rage.

Gibbs left a long pause before replying, ‘You won’t be seeing Harri today, tomorrow or the day after that.

The sailor bit down on a smirk, his jaw tensed. ‘Oh you reckon so?’

The NCIS agent shook his head. ‘I know so.’

Jones stood up, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white.

Gibbs motioned for him to sit back down. ‘Why don’t you tell us what happened?’

The red mist descended, and the Petty Officer lost it, flipping the table towards Gibbs, making primal growling noises, trying to lay hands on the former Marine. DiNozzo and McGee rushed the room and helped Gibbs secure the suspect. Cuffed, they put him back in the chair and Gibbs retook his position opposite.

‘What was the argument about?’ Gibbs asked.

‘Don’t know what you’re talking ‘bout,’ Jones replied in a forced calmness.

The Petty Officer couldn’t make eye contact. He’d been able to make fleeting contact before his temper had given way.

‘I know it was your boots that were used to kick Harri. I know it was your fingers that held her throat so tight it left bruises. So do me a favour and quit lying Petty Officer. ‘

He stayed silent, refusing to even acknowledge the question. Gibbs allowed the silence to fill the room.

‘I also know Harri was bailing you out every month. You owe a lot of people a lot of money.’

Still he said nothing but yet again, Gibbs could see that his resolve was cracking.

‘So what was it, Did you have an argument over money and you lost your temper? Or did she finally see sense and refuse to bail you out anymore?’

Jones stared hard, meeting Gibbs own determined glare.

‘Or maybe she just dumped you. Maybe you weren’t making her happy.’

Finally the fuse was lit and Jones’ temper exploded.

‘She deserved it! ’he screamed, his face red, spittle cascading from his mouth on every emphasis. He was attempting to stand up to get closer to Gibbs. DiNozzo placed him back in the chair.

Gibbs held back his first instinct to launch Jones across the room. He calmly stood up instead and indicated to DiNozzo to book him before leaving the room.

Gibbs headed over to the hospital to see if there was any news for himself.

Debbie was sat in the waiting area when Gibbs arrived at the hospital.

‘She’s woken up!’ Debbie cried, the relief pouring out of her.

‘That’s great. They just checking her over?’

Debbie nodded, overawed with emotion. Gibbs took a seat next to her a put a hand on her shoulder. 

‘You ok?’ Gibbs asked, fixing Debbie with a probing look.

‘I’m just… relieved, scared. I don’t know what the future is going to look like.’

‘You need some sleep.’

‘Yeah, I guess I do Agent Gibbs. I wish I knew where Nathan was. She’s going to want to see him,’

The Special Agent let the silence tell a story.

‘What is it Gibbs? Have you found Nathan? Is he ok?,’ Debbie asked, her face full of fear.

‘He did this Debbie, we’ve got him at NCIS.

Debbie gasped, her hands covering her shocked mouth. Clearly Harri had not indicated there were any problems to her sister which made Gibbs wonder why.

‘Why?’ she finally gasped.

Gibbs shook his head. If he had to guess it was one of the reasons he had goaded Jones with during interrogation. Debbie could not compute what she had just been told and she sobbed openly. Gibbs put a supportive hand on her shoulder. He was hoping he could talk to Harri and find out what happened. He knew what the evidence was saying and he knew what his gut was saying but to hear it from Harri would mean so much.

It was another half an hour before they were allowed in. Gibbs held back for a while, letting Debbie, her eyes still full of tears sit with her sister. When Gibbs finally went to see her, she was holding her hand. Harri did her best to smile but the bruising on her face made it painful.

‘Gibbs,’ she rasped, throat sore from the breathing tube.

‘Foster. You gave us quite a fright there,’

‘I should have fought him off,’

‘I don’t think you stood much of a chance,’ he reassured her

Tears fell down Harri’s battered face.

‘Baby don’t cry,’ Debbie soothed, clearly fighting back her own tears.

‘We got him Harri. We’re going to make him pay for this.’ Gibbs softly asserted.

Harri nodded her head, clearly still upset. Gibbs didn’t want to push things too far. He managed to convince Debbie to get some sleep and Abby was only too happy to have her stay at her apartment. Once he had dropped Debbie off, he went back to the hospital. The security detail had been removed after Jones’ arrest, but Gibbs felt that Harri shouldn’t be alone. She was dozing when he sat down next to her bed but she came to when she sensed her boss taking a seat.

‘I’ve been stupid,’ Harri said, her voice still weak.

Gibbs looked at her and stayed silent.

‘I should have kicked Nate out ages ago.’

‘What stopped you?’ Gibbs asked, all too aware how fragile his colleague was.

‘I thought I loved him,’ she eventually replied, eyes filled with tears.

Gibbs took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

‘You trusted someone and they betrayed that trust. It’s not your fault,’

Harri stayed silent. She turned her head away from her boss to try and compose herself, her hand stayed in his. She eventually turned her head to look forward, but tiredness overtook her and she drifted of to sleep. Gibbs stayed with her and watched her sleep. She’d looked after her siblings from a young age, surely all she had wanted was for someone to look after her for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not quite how I had it in my head but here it is


	3. Sword of Time

Over the next few days, Harri’s wounds and fractures started to heal. One of the team visited her every day but conversation was limited. Usually DiNozzo could make her smile with one of his corny jokes but nothing was working.

It was two weeks after the attack that Gibbs bumped into Debbie in the hospital Foyer. Debbie looked as worried as she had that day she had arrived at the hospital.

‘Everything ok, Debbie?’ Gibbs asked, his eyes searching her face for a clue.

‘No, I’m worried about Harri,’ she replied. Gibbs ushered her over to a seating area so they could talk privately.

‘Is she ok?’ Gibbs asked.

‘She’s being discharged tomorrow and I’ve tried to convince her to come back home with me. I need to go back home to work and well, she’s saying she’ll be fine at her apartment but I don’t think she’ll cope. She still has broken bones and I’m not convinced going back to her apartment where everything happened is such a great idea.’

‘We’ll look after her Debbie,’ Gibbs said without hesitation. He knew it wouldn’t be easy: Harri was as stubborn as they come.

Debbie looked in to his steely blue eyes and knew she trusted him. She’d met all Harri’s colleagues over the last couple of weeks and their bond was impressive. There was a family feel to it. She knew Harri would be looked after.

Gibbs carried on up to Harri’s room. She let him in but she remained quiet. Gibbs sat and read while Harri starred at the television. When it was time for him to leave. Gibbs got up and turned to Harri.

‘I’ll come and pick you up tomorrow, take you home.’

She looked at him with an air of suspicion. ‘I can get a cab. You’ll be busy.’

‘Foster, let us help you.’ Gibbs eyes giving her a softer look than she was used to.

‘Fine, I’ll call you when I’m ready.’

Gibbs nodded and carried on his way.

****************************************************************

She thought about sneaking away and not phoning Gibbs but she didn’t feel it was worth it. Not that Gibbs would say anything, just stare at her looking disappointed and a bit angry. Harri then wondered why what he thought mattered, it wasn’t as if he could write her up for it as she wasn’t at work. But it did matter because her grumpy and sometimes irritable boss was the only man in her life who she had a deep-seated respect for and she would never want to belittle the trust he held in her. 

The journey from the hospital to her apartment was silent which suited her just fine. Arriving outside apartment, she could feel her mouth go dry.

‘You ok Foster? Gibbs asked as he unclicked his seatbelt.

Harri nodded and motioned to get out the car. She was regretting saying no to painkillers before she left the hospital but the pain kept her mind off other things. Gibbs carried her bag as she got her keys out and gingerly walked towards the building door. Her boss held the door open for her but she froze, her eyes wide absorbing every detail. Gibbs looked at her, saying nothing until she finally made her way in to the building at in to the elevator. Every heartbeat drummed louder and faster in her chest. She opened her apartment door, took a step inside and took a sharp intake of breath. Suddenly the event of two weeks ago were playing in her mind. Every curse, every punch every kick felt as real today as it had then. A wave of nausea hit her and she rushed to the bathroom sink to throw up. She was feeling dizzy, panicked and the sweat was dripping off her. When she got out the bathroom, she realised Gibbs was still there. He remained silent.

‘I can’t do this Gibbs.’ She relented. ‘I can’t stay here.’

‘Come on, let’s go,’ he said quietly, leading her back to the car.

The car journey was a blur, Harri felt disorientated from place and time. When she finally regained composure, she was sat on Gibbs couch, wrapped in a blanket and a mug of hot chocolate in front of her. She could hear Gibbs in the kitchen. Discarding the blanket she got up. If nothing else she really needed some painkillers now. As she got to the kitchen she could see Gibbs was preparing food.

‘You ok?’ he asked, looking up from the stove.

‘Just need my prescription,’ she grimaced, the pain gnawing at her body.

Gibbs grabbed the tablets of the shelf and set them down in front of Harri before getting her a glass of water.

‘There will be food ready in about 5 minutes if you wanna take a seat?’ Gibbs offered.

Harri nodded. Probably best to eat something with the tablets she had just taken so she took a seat at the table and a plate of hot food was placed in front of her. Gibbs took a seat opposite and started eating. The meal was silent. At least Harri knew Gibbs wouldn’t partake in meaningless chit chat. It was never an awkward silence either, rather a comfortable one that gave the space she needed. She ate about a quarter of her meal but Gibbs didn’t pass comment just said there were snacks in the cupboard if she needed them. Gibbs was washing up when Ducky arrived. Harri suspected Gibbs had asked him to visit but as ever with Ducky, his bedside manner was comforting and as she had often felt, wasted on his regular patients down in autopsy. Gibbs made himself scarce allowing Harri the chance to speak privately with him. She told him about how she had felt at her apartment, describing the flashbacks and the panic.

‘Harriet, you’ve been through a traumatic experience and revisiting the place it happened probably triggered all those memories and made it feel very real all over again. It might fade with time but you might need treatment for it. I’m afraid only time will tell’ Ducky responded.

She listened intently, her eyes filling with tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. Ducky took her hand.

‘You must give yourself time dear girl. You’ve been through a great deal in the last few weeks. I’d recommend talking to someone,’ he said getting up to leave.

Harri nodded. Ducky rested his hand on her shoulder briefly before announcing his departure. She wrapped herself in a blanket and cocooned herself on the couch. She put the TV on for something to distract her. After an hour or so, Gibbs emerged from the basement. He sat down next to Harri and studied her for a few moments. Her eyes were heavy and he doubted she was actually following the plot of this film.

‘Do you need anything?’ he said softly, trying not to startle her. He slowly turned her head towards him.

‘Could you get me some pain meds please?’ she asked. Gibbs nodded and went to get her the tablets and some water to wash them down with. She took them straight away.

‘Thanks Gibbs,’ she replied, putting her empty glass of water on the coffee table.

‘Did you want to get to bed, there’s a room upstairs,’ he ventured.

‘I forgot you sleep on the couch don’t you? I’ll get out the way,’ she said, wincing as she tried to slide herself from the seat

‘You’re not in the way Foster. If you want to stay where you are, it’s plenty big enough for both of us,’

Harri looked to her boss. She knew he wasn’t one for saying things he didn’t mean so she knew his offer was genuine. She’d have to make it to the cloakroom later to wash her teeth and get ready but she wanted to wait for the pain meds to kick in. She’d stayed with Gibbs once before after getting a concussion while on a case. Nathan was on deployment and Gibbs wasn’t happy her staying on her own she’s stayed with him. It had been a rough case and she was glad of the company. She snuggled up in the blanket once more and waited for the pills to work.

_There was a loud crack of gun fire and Harri was running down a deserted road. It was dark. The footsteps of her pursuer were getting closer. She tried to get away but she kept falling_ _. Everything hurt. The gunfire was now in front of her. She screamed…_

‘Foster wake up!’ Gibbs said as loudly as he dared, his hands holding her shoulders as he sat right next to her on the couch.

Harri opened her eyes, suddenly taking in her surroundings. There was no road, no gunfire. She was in Gibbs’ lounge.

‘I’m sorry,’ she gasped, her heart thundering in her chest.

‘It’s ok. You’re safe,’ he said calmly and clearly. He watched as her breathing slowed from it’s frenetic pace and her facial expression went from terrified to a pained expression Gibbs suspected she had been hiding since this all happened. She screwed her eyes shut, trying to prevent herself from crying. It was no use. She was too tired, too hurt to keep the act up. She rested her head on Gibbs’ chest and he wrapped his arms around her as streams of tears fell from her face. He held her like that for more than an hour until eventually she sat up. She still looked tired and washed out, probably still in a great deal of pain but she seemed a little more alert.

‘Hot Chocolate Foster?’ Gibbs asked. She smiled and nodded her head. She was the only Special Agent he’d had on his team who didn’t mainline coffee. While she mainly drank water, she’d have a hot chocolate to cheer herself up.

Gibbs returned with drinks. It was 3am but something told him they wouldn’t be getting to sleep anytime soon.


	4. Rest and Recoup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harri talks with Gibbs. She returns to Ohio for a break but things start getting strange.

‘I didn’t think Nate would hurt me y’know?’ Harri stated. She was wrapped up a blanket. ‘We argued. We’d been arguing a lot because of the money he was spending but I guess you all know about that better than I do…’

‘No one is judging you Foster. No one on the team cared about any of that. All they cared was catch whoever did this to you and that you were going to be ok.’ Gibbs replied.

‘I’m judging me. I’ve been such an idiot. I should have got rid of him ages ago. I was so in love with the idea of being in love that I overlooked the whole being in love the guy to start with,’ her voice was starting to break.

‘Y’know, it’s not that simple,’

‘Yeah but we deal with cases like this all the time. Why didn’t I see it?

‘We get cases after something has happened. We then interview everyone concerned and get evidence and see banks statements. But Foster, we do this after the event with all the information to hand. Living it is totally different. Above all, we human and humans make mistakes. You trusted Nathan. He is in the wrong here, not you.’

She sat and drank her hot chocolate, clearly not ready to forgive herself just yet. Gibbs got himself comfortable on the couch again and started to drift off to sleep. Harri knew she was lucky to have a boss like Gibbs, someone who made a feel safe. He hadn’t hesitated to bring her into his home. He’d clearly known going back to her apartment was a bad idea but he’d let her find that out for herself and he’d done it without saying a word. She loved her NCIS team but she was worried about what sort of agent she’d be when and if got back. Despite what Gibbs said, she felt a sense of shame about needing to be rescued. She thought about Debbie who had pleaded with her to return to Ohio and stay her while she recovered. Harri realised she was making life hard for the people she cared about. She looked over at Gibbs who was by now in a light sleep. She got up and hobbled over to the kitchen to get herself more pain meds. Grabbing her phone, she checked flights to Cincinnati and booked herself on to a flight later that day. Feeling a little more positive, she got herself ready for bed and made herself comfortable on the sofa.

It was just after 7am when she woke with a start. Another nightmare had ended abruptly. Gibbs was sat next to he, his hand on her shoulder to reassure her. He was showered and changed and Harri could not understand how he looked so awake when he’d barely had any sleep.

‘How are you feeling?’ Gibbs asks as Harri sits herself up.

‘Like I’m not meant to sleep,’ she replies groggily.

‘I can always make up the bed upstairs if you want?’

She shakes her head. ‘I decided that I need to stop being a pain in the ass and go stay with my sister for a few days. Bought myself a ticket for later today.

Gibbs was surprised at Harri’s sudden change of heart but pleased. He knew Debbie was worried about her and maybe some RnR with family was what she needed.

‘I’ll take you to the airport. No arguments.’

************************************

Gibbs was sat at his desk working through a stack of paperwork. DiNozzo and McGee were discussing which genre of film was the greatest while also ploughing their way through case file reviews. When his phone rang, he was surprised to see Harri’ name on the caller display.

‘Gibbs? I got a problem here,’ the agent said in a hushed tone.

‘ I’m putting you on speaker. What’s the problem Foster?’ he replied, arousing the interest of his other two agents.

‘I’m in the food hall at Cinicinnati airport and I’m reasonably sure I’m being followed,’

‘At an airport, you going somewhere?’

‘Coming back to DC. Any chance McGee could look up the CCTV? I’m in the Food Hall

McGee started taping at his keyboard and accessed the CCTV for the airport. He found Harri sat on her phone within the airport food hall. He put it up on the screen for the others to see

‘We got ya,’ Gibbs replied.

‘There are two guys sat by the exit to the main terminal. To my 3 o’clock. Blue sweatshirt, dark jeans. And the other one is in a grey polo shirt and black pants.

McGee changed cameras un till he found a good face shot of the two men and started running them through the database.

‘What time is your flight?’ Gibbs aked.

‘In about half an hour,’

‘Got it boss. They’re navy. Petty Officer Saul Nugent and Petty Officer Ryan Hoare. They’re both stationed on the Forrest Sherman.

‘Urghh, they’re Nate’s friends. I think they’ve been following me all week.’

‘And you’re just telling us that now?’

‘Gibbs, I’ve spent all week thinking everyone was following me. It’s not been the relaxing break I was hoping for.’

‘DiNozzo is going to call the airport, get you an escort to your gate. Any idea what they want?’ Gibbs asked as his senior field agent got on the phone to the airport.

‘Probably trying to get Nate off the hook.

‘McGee will keep watching. We’ll get you off the flight at the other end.’

‘Ok Boss.’

Gibbs ended the call. McGee studied the images. DINozzo got off his call and watched with McGee as airport security approached Harri and escorted her to her gate. McGee kept watching, right up until the moment they boarded the plane. Nugent and Hoare also got on the plane. The plane would land at Washington in 90 minutes time and NCIS would be there to meet them.


	5. Bad Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What were the Petty Officers' plan for Harri?

Gibbs stood by the gate by next to exit of the plane. He wanted to see what Nugent and Hoare were up to but he needed to be close so Harri knew he was there and if anything happened, he could intervene. McGee and DiNozzo were situated further through the arrivals lounge. He spotted Harri leaving and she carried on. The two sailors were getting themselves as closer to Harri as they could, sidestepping other passengers to get right behand her. Gibbs followed on after them, making himself look like he too had just got off the plane. He watched them intently, they were up to something but from this angle, he couldn’t quite work out what it was. Unwilling to risk anything happening to his agent, he overtook them and stood next to Harri,

‘Hey Harri, fancy seeing you here,’ he said, putting his arm around her shoulder. He could see DiNozzo stood ahead of them and he signalled to him to keep any eye on their two suspects. Tony nodded and walked at a respectable distance from them. Harri kept up her conversation with Gibbs, giving the impression that they hadn’t seen each other in a while. Gibbs noted that while her bruises had faded, she seemed on edge and scared. Gibbs held her a little closer, his way of saying ‘I’ve got you.’ Harri rested her shoulder against him.

‘Slut,’ came a voice from behind them.

Gibbs carried on walking, knowing DiNozzo was right on their tail. He could see McGee getting ready to join DiNozzo walking behind the two men.

‘Woah Harri, found a sugar daddy already,’ Hoare said with a mimicking tone. Gibbs kept a hold of Harri and kept walking.

‘I suggest petty officers, if you’ve got something to say, you say it to the two federal officers who are behind you and will be taking you to NCIS. Gibbs stated, still carrying on towards the exit.

The two sailors stopped dead, looking behind them to see McGee and DiNozzo smiling sickly at them before escorting them through the airport.

Gibbs took Harri back to his house having instructed DiNozzo and McGee to find out what the two sailors had been up to. She looked exhausted as she collapsed on to his couch.

‘So when did they start following you?’ Gibbs asked.

‘I saw them on my flight over to Cincinnati but I’ve never met them before so I didn’t think anything of it until I went to a diner with Debbie and my youngest brother and they were there again. After than I just seemed to see them everywhere. I thought I was going mad. I didn’t want to leave the house. When I saw them at the airport I knew I needed help. ‘

‘So you’ve never met them before but they know who you are just fine.’

‘I’ve heard Nate say their names before so when McGee ID’d them, I knew this was to with Nate.’

‘I’ll make a bed up, you can get some rest while I go find out what’s happening. You ok with that?’ he said, his eyes probing for a honest answer.

‘I’ll be fine Gibbs,’ Harri replied, trying to be as convincing as possible.

**************************

On arriving at the office, Gibbs found DiNozzo in interrogation with Hoare, and McGee in the conference room with Nugent. He called his agents back to the bull pen so he could get to grips with what they had found out

‘They’re both refusing to talk until they get a lawyer, we’ve requested JAG send someone over.’ DiNozzo told Gibbs.

‘There was recording equipment, cameras, pictures of Harri and vials of Rohypnol in their luggage. Whatever they had planned, it wasn’t pretty, McGee added.

Gibbs felt his gut churn. Something was up with what they had discovered. He needed to know if Harri knew anything else so he told his agents to keep digging and went straight back home to see if she could give him any further clues. He wasn’t even halfway home when DiNozzo called to say Harri’s apartment had been turned over. Gibbs drummed the steering wheel as he impatiently waited in traffic. He was going to have to take Foster into protective custody. It was the last thing he wanted to do, especially as all the trauma from the attack was clearly still affecting her.

Harri didn’t argue when Gibbs told her she needed to go with him to NCIS. She didn’t want to but once he told her about the break in at her apartment, she knew she needed to be near people she trusted. Once in the car, Gibbs told her about what they’d found in the sailors’ luggage which set her heart rate speeding up. They’d been following her all week, was that Rohypnol meant for her?

‘Is there anything that Nathan might have been caught up in other than gambling?’ Gibbs asked her.

Harri was too shocked to produce a verbal answer and she just shook her head. She thought she’d known Nathan but the last month had shown that she didn’t know him as well as she’d thought. A thought came to her.

‘Did Nathan have one or two phones with him when you picked him up?’ Harri asked. Gibbs glanced briefly to her.

‘Just one, why?’

‘I think he had another one. I suspect it was a prepay.’

‘Any idea why?’ Gibbs ventured.

‘No, I asked him about his new phone once and he denied he had one, said I must have been mistaken. Now starting to feel I wasn’t.’

The rest of the journey was silent. Harri mulled over what she’d been told and her head felt like it was spinning. She’d yet to have a proper night’s sleep and she couldn’t quite ignore the rising panic she felt when she was around people she didn’t know. Having to be back at her place at work, albeit not as an employee was also playing on her mind because she still felt awkward about what had happened.

‘Foster?’ Gibbs stated.

Harri had been so distracted by the noise in her head that she hadn’t realised they were parked in the Navy Yard.

‘Um yeah, sorry,’ she mumbled, reaching to release her seatbelt.

‘You ok with this?’ Gibbs asked, gesturing towards the NCIS building.

‘Not really but I guess I need to do it.’

She got out of the car, feeling a familiar tightness in her chest. Gibbs put his arm across her shoulder, as they got closer to the building, Harri could feel her hear palpating in her ribcage. She stopped for a few moments to take a few breaths before indicating to her boss that she was ready. He kept hold of her as they walked in though security, Gibbs made sure they avoided the melting pot of the bullpen and guided her to the lab where there was no chance of her bumping in to the two petty officers. Abby immediately enveloped Harri is a hug and the special agent had to remind her that her ribs weren’t quite healed yet.

‘Abby, I need you to show Foster Petty Officer Jones’ possessions. ‘Gibbs said as Abby apologetically stopped crushing her colleague with her embrace and went to retrieve them from the evidence locker. Abby carefully laid out all the bags so Harri could take a look. She picked up the phone and studied it.

‘This isn’t the phone I remember him using.’ She declared, putting it back on the table.

‘Is it like the second phone you thought he had?’ Gibbs asked.

Harri shook her head, ‘No, that was a really up to date one, this looks like a much older one.’

Gibbs nodded and indicated he was going to go upstairs and find out what was happening, leaving Harri in Abby’s company.

***********************

‘Sit rep McGee,’ Gibbs barked as he entered the bullpen.

‘Jag have sent people over. Hoare is talking to his counsel in the conference room. Tony is questioning Nugent in interrogation. Metro are processing Harri’s apartment and they’re going to send over what they find. I’ve been looking for connections between Jones and these two petty officers and apart from being stationed together I’m not finding a lot.’

‘Keep digging McGee. Foster says Jones probably had another phone and the phone we have in evidence is neither of those phones so look for other common numbers.’

‘Harri’s here?’ McGee said, surprised.

‘She’s with Abby but keep that quiet,’

‘Got it boss,’ McGee replied before getting back to his computer.

Gibbs went to observation to see if DiNozzo was getting anywhere. As he suspected it was a stream of no comments. Likelihood was they’d have to charge them with stalking. He knew there was something else going on; They just needed to find out what it was.


	6. All Of My Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team wrap up the case but how will Harri cope?

It was Metro PD that gave them the breakthrough they needed after found fingerprints at Harri’s apartment that belonged to a known sex offender. From there, they were able to link him to a human trafficking ring. NCIS were able to find the evidence that linked Petty Officers Jones, Hoare and Nugent to a spate of young women who had disappeared from ports they had enjoyed shore leave at. Wherever possible, Gibbs had kept Harri out of the loop as he knew this would cause her a great deal of distress. Harri was so tired she ended up sleeping on the floor by Abby’s desk in the lab, her friend staying with her to make sure she was ok.

Once the case was wrapped up and all the men had been charged, Gibbs gently woke her up and took her home. She was too tired to question him about what had happened and when they got back to his place, she made herself comfortable on the couch and promptly fell asleep. Gibbs could tell it wasn’t a restful sleep, she was moving around too much for that. As much as he wanted to disappear to the basement and work on his boat, he didn’t think he should be too far away from her right now so he put the tv on low and watched an old film until he inevitably needed to sleep too. The next time he opened his eyes a few hour later, she was not on the other part of the couch. He listened for a few minutes to check if he could hear her in the bathroom or the kitchen. When he couldn’t, he got up and started looking for her. To his relief, he found her sat on the back step with a cup of hot chocolate in hand. She looked around and saw her boss walking towards her.

‘Sorry, didn’t wake you up did I?’ she asked, cradling the steaming cup in her shaky hands.

‘No, woke up all by myself. Another nightmare? He ventured.

‘They are constant. Sometimes I get myself back to sleep after them and sometimes…’

‘You’re sat on the back porch drinking hot chocolate at 2am?’ he quipped.

‘Yeah. I’m guessing you finished the case?’

‘We did,’

‘And I’m guessing you want to tell me during daylight hours,’

Gibbs nodded and Harri was happy to wait. She knew it was going to be bad after hearing what the sailors who had been following her were found with. Her brain wouldn’t let her dwell too long on the possibilities, probably to protect her from going there. Plus she had plenty of other problems to mull over. She stood herself up and followed her boss back inside. They both made themselves comfortable on the couch again. Gibbs observed Harri for a a few moments, she wasn’t going to sleep, her body language said as much she seemed to just be staring up at the ceiling.

‘You can stay here as long as you need to. There’s no hurry to go back to your apartment.’ Gibbs knew she would be worrying about that. He knew he wouldn’t be happy with her returning there either.

Harri looked across to Gibbs and gave half a smile. ‘Thanks Boss. The smile faded and a worried look replaced it. Gibbs gave her a look that asked her to elaborate.

‘What if I can’t do my job anymore?’ she ventured, a real sound of worry in her voice.

‘You can’t call that yet. You’re 3 weeks into your recovery. And you’d still be welcome to stay.

‘I just…’

‘Foster. Don’t let that bastard do this to you. You are a good agent and you will recover. Just do what you need to do and see who you need to see to get better. He hurt you in the past. Don’t let him steal your future too,’ Gibbs pleaded.

There was a long silence. Gibbs wondered if he’d made his last point a little to forcibly. Given than she didn’t even know what the outcome of the investigation was so she still had that to deal with.

Harri sighed. She had a follow up appointment with the hospital next week. She felt like her body was healing but nothing else was. She felt stuck in limbo. Gibbs drifted back to sleep but she just couldn’t manage it. She was showered and dressed by the time Gibbs woke up properly.

Gibbs took Harri to the diner for breakfast and in order to tell her about the case. She nodded as Gibbs told her the details and carried on eating breakfast.

‘Can we go to my apartment please,’ She asked as they were getting up to leave.’ Gibbs spied her with a look of uncertainty.

‘You sure you want to do that?’ he queried.

‘Yeah. I just want to check something.’

Despite his misgivings, Gibbs drove her to the apartment she had shared with Jones. He could see that she was struggling as soon as she entered the building but at the same time, she seemed determined to go in. The elevator ride was silent and soon as the doors opened, Harri could feel her heart bounding in her chest. Gibbs stayed right beside her as she entered the apartment. Immediately she was reliving the assault and she grabbed on to her boss who put his arms around her and held her tightly. After what felt like hours but was probably no more that a couple of minutes, the panic subsided and Harri felt able to breathe again. The shakiness remained and she still held on to Gibbs. The place had been trashed. Harri knew there was only one thing she wanted to get and that was a shoebox of important papers and things that were important to her. She’d had them hidden under the floorboards. Gibbs helped her left the panel and grabbed the box from the underfloor area.

‘Ready to go?’ Gibbs asked. Harri nodded her head, concentrating very hard on keeping herself grounded in the present. With that, he walked her out of the building and back to the car

The following week, Harri handed in her notice on her apartment. Her colleagues went in and packed what was left up for her and Gibbs stored her stuff in his basement. She also went to see a counsellor and started to get some help/ Gibbs insisted she move into his spare room. Therapy was hard, like reliving the events of that Saturday everytime she went making her feel ill at just the thought of going. Someone always went to get her after a session whether it be Gibbs, McGee, Abby, Tony or even Ducky. It took 6 months to get to the point where she didn’t need to go straight to her room to cry when she got back.

It was Christmas Eve, the rest of the team were in the Bullpen, putting the finishing touches to their latest case reports. They were all so engrossed, they didn’t notice Harri walk in to the office. She snuck up to DiNozzo and whispered boo in his ear, making him squeal.

‘DiNozzo, did you just squeal like a little pig?’ Abby laughed, running up to Harri to give her a hug.

The rest of the team gathered round them.

‘Clearly Foster has been spending too much time round the boss and can just appear out of no where’ Tony retorted. That earned him a slap to the back of the head from Gibbs.

‘Great to see you Harri, You staying for a while?’ McGee asked.

Harri smirked. ‘I can do better than a while Tim, I got signed off fit to return to work.’

‘Oh my, that’s brilliant!’ Abby cheered.

She stayed with her team until home time, leaving with her boss. They’d both had multiple invites to celebrate Christmas with the team but neither of them had felt up to celebrating. Instead, they’d agreed to spend the day ay home, doing what ever they wanted.

‘Great news about being back on the team Foster,’ Gibbs mentioned as they got back to his house.

‘It is. I really didn’t think I would get there either,’

‘But you did,’Gibbs replied, a half smile encroaching on his lips.

‘Couldn’t have done it without you boss.’

Gibbs shugged, ‘You didn’t need me,’

‘Yeah I did!’ she exclaimed. ‘You have held me together since I got out of hospital.’

‘Just looking after my kids,’ he quipped, pulling Harri towards him for a hug.’

‘I wish my dad was half the man you are. Proud to have you as a work dad,’ she said gently, the tears starting to well in her eyes and she held on to Gibbs and basked in the protection his arms afforded her.

Gibbs held her a little tighter, struggling to identify the emotion that he was feeling, that was overwhelming him. His own daughter would have been about Harri’s age had she lived. He often wondered what she might have gone on to do with her life.

Grief. That’s what that emotion was. It took many forms these days, hid alongside other feelings like a chameleon. It’s punch was never any less painful though. Harri had done what he could never do; move on. And for that, he thought she was brave. Braver than he could ever be. With eyes laden with memories, he held Harri a step away so she could see his face.

‘And I’m proud to think of you as a daughter.’

**Author's Note:**

> I think this fic sounded better in my head. However, I'll see where it takes me.


End file.
